Anemoi: Model Elephant

Eren summoned another creature in front of him to take the brunt of the attacks Gian had launched. The wind-element elephant wasn't an ideal choice as a summoned creature inside the fire domain. It was, however, Eren's most effective defense against Gian's approaching attacks.

The elephant used his trunk to fire a bunch of compressed wind balls at the spheres. They were shot with such force that they managed to deflect most of the spear attacks. The remaining attacks landed on the summoned creature's body. Eren used the elephant as a shield to get away from the immediate danger.

Swoosh. Zoom. Boom.

Eren attacked the Aqua Whips using his dual-element weapons. He sent a series of Blitz Waves and Igni Waves at the Aqua Whips and combined them into singular attacks midway using elemental fusion. This way, he avoided putting pressure on the axes and enhanced the spells' effectiveness at the same time.

Eren disappeared from his position as soon as he managed to break free from his bindings. Gian also did the same while tackling the herd of wind-element elephants Eren had summoned for him.

Blitz Shard

Alfem

Igni Chains

Igni Shards

Eren cast his next set of spells as he approached Gian head-on. A bunch of firebirds formed behind him before getting covered in lightning and fire shards. Eren had a small breakthrough in the battle as he merged the two spells and created lightning-fire shards out of them using elemental fusion.

Scree!

The firebirds came to life when they were blessed with the protection of elemental fusion. They followed their caster as they prepared to attack Gian.

"Hmph! You are 100 years too young to battle with me like an equal, you insolent brat."

Gian spoke in contempt as he started exchanging moves with Eren using his swords. His one sword had lightning-element runes on it while the other was a water-element artifact. Unlike Eren who had invested in dual-element weapons, Gian was perfectly fine with wielding two separate weapons for his dual-element needs.

Eren slowly started to get overwhelmed by Gian's attacks. He was sure that his techniques were better than Gian's. He had digested so many styles of martial arts that he could now quickly spot flaws in his attacks as well as his opponents'. However, the natural advantage Gian had due to his ranking status could not be denied.

Gian's high body stats allowed him to dominate Eren, allowing him to injure him over time. The battlemage soon started having many open wounds on his body. Most of these wounds were shallow. However, some wounds looked grim. Gian's invasion of foreign mana exacerbated them and made them more severe. His wounds bled and stained his clothes, making his appearance bloody and savage-like.

Lightning Fist

Gian let go of one of his swords and launched a sudden hook under Eren's chin when he got the chance. He started with the first style in his close combat class and has retained some expertise in it despite adopting mana-based weapon arts. That diversity of attacks paid off for Gian and allowed him to take Eren by surprise.

Eren flew into the air when the fist was connected to him. It launched his body 10 meters into the air and sent him about 30 meters away from his previous position. The battlemage was dropped on the dense ground, creating a crater that looked like a spiderweb.historical

Eren ignored the pain he was feeling and shook his head. He quickly cast his movement spell even when his vision was blurry. That decision saved him from further trouble because Gian had followed him. He made the crater larger by using his lightning-powered fist to attack Eren's previous position.

Blitz Heal

Eren quickly cast his healing spell while uncorking a healing potion. He quickly drank the contents as he used his movement spell to maintain a safe distance from the approaching Gian.

Gian faced a lot of obstacles while chasing Eren inside his fire domain. The Igni Chains tried to latch onto him. Firebirds attempted to attack him. Taranbiest tried to take a bite out of his legs. And subsequently, the elephants attempted to crush him using their charges and other physical attacks.

Gian was enraged by these obstructions. He employed his summoned weapons to their fullest, using them to deal with Eren's summons. So that he wouldn't be burned to a crisp by the fire domain, he kept strengthening his defense.

Eren had started using guerrilla tactics to attack Gian. He would only stay at his place for a moment or two to attack him before using his summoned creatures as cover to run away. He would then repeat the process whenever he saw an opportunity.

'Hm? It's about damn time.'

Eren felt the subtle sensation through his mana sense and knew that his Igni Lotus was about to collapse. The spell was so unstable that it was liable to hurt even its caster if he stayed inside the domain at the time of the collapse.

Eren had an evil smile on his face as he ran toward the edge of the fire domain. He sent his mana circuits into hyperdrive and cast an army of firebirds for his opponents inside the fire domain. This would keep him busy no matter how brutally he struck back.

A distinct mana pulse was released inside the fire domain as the spell became critically unstable. The deviant casting finally collapsed the spell while Gian was busy handling the newly summoned school of firebirds.

Gian sensed a threatening vibe coming from all around him. His expression turned grim and he started looking around with vigilance. It took him a moment to realize that the fire domain itself was about to collapse.

After strengthening his gel-like defensive spell, Gian cast a water shield around him and got inside. He was also about to employ his defensive artifact on him. But it was too late for that.

BOOM!

A wave of heat, shock, and brilliance spread across the surroundings as Igni Lotus collapsed and made a mushroom cloud. The compressed fire-element mana expanded so rapidly that it created a 7-meter depression in the ground with the same radius as the area of the fire domain.

The firebirds were also detonated by the instability of the Igni Lotus. The rest of Eren's summoned creatures were destroyed right afterward.

Eren was pushed away from his position by shockwaves. Dust and grime spread everywhere and blocked his vision. The collapse of Igni Lotus also interfered with his mana sense, preventing him from keeping tabs on Gian.

Eren had to wait for the dust to settle. Meanwhile, he fixed himself using his healing spell used in conjunction with the healing potion. He gripped his pair of axes hard and waited for Gian to show up. That's because he knew that even such a blast was not enough to get rid of an Awakened ranker this easily.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

Gian's scream resounded in the surroundings as he tried to process the damage he had inflicted by Eren's insidious attack. The detonation of the Igni Lotus had taken him by surprise. It destroyed his water shield instantly before getting rid of the viscous gel he had used as a second skin on his body.

The volatile fire-element mana had penetrated deep into his body before destroying the water-element second skin he had worn. It gave him severe second and third-degree burns before causing a foreign mana invasion. His entire body had been set on fire when the Igni Lotus collapsed on him.

Gian started looking like a human torch. His outline could be seen clearly amid the storm created by the mixture of fire dust and other elemental anomalies that had appeared as the byproduct of deviant casting. Soon, his legs turned weak as he crashed to the ground.

'A little more effort. A little more persistence. What seems like a hopeless failure will turn into a glorious success, brick by brick.'

Eren was very impressed with himself for bringing an Awakened ranker to his knees. However, he quickly resisted the temptation to celebrate an early victory. He took a deep breath before using Blitz Steps.

Gian felt a threatening sensation coming for him. He knew that he wasn't in a position to defend himself. Thus, he cast a special spell that he would rarely use on his missions.

Spirit Beast Spell: Red Lightning Panther

A red lightning panther was summoned into existence. This was Gian's spirit beast that he would only use against top Awakened rankers and Rank-2 Beasts. He could have never imagined that there would come a day when he would have to summon his spirit beast against a Meta ranker.

Eren was about to attack Gian when he saw him summoning a spirit beast. Instead of approaching the close combat expert, he focused on the beast. The beast's aura didn't allow him to approach it casually.

'Meh! I fought that overhyped lizard. This thing ain't enough to keep me from killing that guy.'